Heroin worth Rs 16 cr seized in Assam, 4 from Manipur held

Guwahati, Nov 16 (PTI) Four persons from Manipur were arrested in Assam's Karbi Anglong district after heroin worth nearly Rs 16 crore was seized from their possession in two separate operations, police said on Thursday.

According to Karbi Anglong Superintendent of Police Sanjib Kumar Saikia, suspected heroin was recovered from two locations in Dillai Police Station area.

During a routine vehicle-checking exercise, a van with suspicious movement was intercepted. After a thorough search, the police team recovered 130 soap cases containing 1.652 kg of suspected heroin from there, he said.

The boxes were found in a hidden chamber of the vehicle, and two persons from the neighbouring state were apprehended, Saikia said.

In another operation, a vehicle was intercepted at Lahorijan in Dillai and 28 soap cases with 334.83 gram of heroin were recovered, the SP said.

'From that operation also, two persons were apprehended. Further investigation is on,' he added.

Another official of the Assam Police told PTI that all four arrested persons hail from Manipur and they were bringing the contraband from the neighbouring state.

'They use Karbi Anglong as a transit point to supply drugs to other parts of the country. We are trying our best to break this network,' he said on the condition of anonymity.

The total value of the seized drug will be nearly Rs 16 crore as per Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) standards, he said.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma appreciated the efforts of police for the seizure of drugs. PTI TR TR BDC